Voices as Weapons

Voices as Weapons

Incorporating The Hate U Give in the EFL

classroom to discuss institutional racism, double- consciousness and the importance of minoritized voices

Master’s Thesis

Author: Amy Roxburgh Supervisor: Anna Thyberg Examiner: Anne Holm Date: 26 May 2020 Subject: English Level: Advanced Course code: 4ENÄ2E

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is two-fold. Firstly, the aim is to analyze the three aspects institutional racism, double-consciousness and importance of minoritized voices in Angie Thomas’ novel The Hate U Give in connection to the thesis’ theoretical framework, Critical Race Theory. Secondly, the aim is also to argue for the inclusion of The Hate U Give in the Swedish EFL classroom, by investigating potential pedagogical implications in connection to the literary analysis and the thesis’ pedagogical framework, Critical Race Pedagogy. Potentially as a way of hoping for social justice and change for a minoritized group of people, the literary analysis of the three aspects demonstrates that Thomas depicts racial inequality as natural and fixed within many layers of American society such as economic opportunities, law enforcement, education, identities and which voices are heard vs. ignored. Therefore, this thesis argues that Thomas’ counter narrative The Hate U Give, with its portrayal of the racially inequal American society and the effects on the African American characters, could serve as a point of departure for discussions of institutional racism, double-consciousness and the importance of minoritized voices in the Swedish EFL classroom, to raise awareness of the situation for a minoritized group of people in America and connect it to the students’

own experiences and knowledge of these aspects.

Keywords

EFL, Upper Secondary school, Young Adult Literature, Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give, Critical Race Theory/Pedagogy, Institutional Racism, Double-Consciousness, Minoritized Voices

Thanks

To my supervisor Anna Thyberg, for the kind help and endless support during the writing process.

Contents

1 Introduction ________________________________________________________ 1 2 Critical Race Theory _________________________________________________ 5 2.1 Institutional Racism _______________________________________________ 7 2.2 Double-Consciousness _____________________________________________ 9 2.3 The Importance of Minoritized Voices ________________________________ 11 3 The Hate U Give and Critical Race Pedagogy ____________________________ 13 3.1 Critical Race Pedagogy ____________________________________________ 13 3.2 Why The Hate U Give? ____________________________________________ 16 4 Institutional Racism, Double-Consciousness and the Importance of Minoritized Voices in The Hate U Give _____________________________________________ 19

4.1 Institutional Racism ______________________________________________ 19 4.1.1 Inequal Economical Opportunities _______________________________ 19 4.1.2 Law Enforcement Injustice ______________________________________ 22 4.1.3 Educational Disparity _________________________________________ 25 4.2 Double-Consciousness ____________________________________________ 27 4.3 The Importance of Minoritized Voices ________________________________ 31 5 Pedagogical Implications for The Hate U Give ___________________________ 36 5.1 Institutional Racism ______________________________________________ 36 5.2 Double-Consciousness ____________________________________________ 39 5.2.1 Identity _____________________________________________________ 39 5.2.2 Prejudice and Stereotypes ______________________________________ 40 5.3 The Importance of Minoritized Voices ________________________________ 41 5.3.1 Using Voices for Social Justice __________________________________ 42 6 Conclusion _________________________________________________________ 44 Works Cited _________________________________________________________ 46 Appendices ___________________________________________________________ I Appendix A – Socratic Seminar Questions _________________________________ I Appendix B – Discussion Questions for the Teaching Unit “Identity” ___________ II

1 Introduction

“Remember what I told you about your voice?”

“You said it’s my biggest weapon.”

“And I mean that.” She stares at me a second, then sighs out her nose.

“You want to fight the system tonight?”

I nod” (Thomas 405).

This quote is retrieved from the young adult novel The Hate U Give written by Angie Thomas. The conversation takes place between the 16-year-old African American narrator Starr Carter and her lawyer and activist group leader April Ofrah, and demonstrates the moment when Starr decides to use her greatest weapon during a crucial protest; her voice.

The novel The Hate U Give was first published in 2017 and portrays the life of Starr before and after being the single witness of the fatal police shooting of her unarmed, childhood best friend. This “hazel-eyed boy with dimples” was called Khalil Harris, but the world decided to call him a “thug” (Thomas 436). The novel concerns themes such as racism, identity and bravery and throughout the novel the reader receives an insight into Starr’s inner-thoughts about life in her two worlds, Garden Heights and Williamson. At the end of the novel Starr acknowledges that the shooting of Khalil was not solely about her, Khalil and the police officer. The shooting is about more than that; it is also about the many other unarmed African American police brutality victims such as “. . . Oscar. Aiyana. Trayvon. Rekia. Michael [and] Eric . . . even about that little boy in 1955 who nobody recognized at first – Emmett” (Thomas 437), who are all real-life victims. In the author’s note to her novel, Thomas expresses her feelings about her own childhood in similar settings and her hopes to give a voice to those who feel the same way as she did, growing up as a witness to injustice, prejudice

and racism towards the African American population. Her novel is inspired by the current Black Lives Matter movement and she encourages her readers to know that their voice matters and to find their own activism. She emphasizes the importance of letting young people know that they are not alone in their feelings of “frustration, fear, anger and sadness” (Thomas 442) and she hopes that her readers will walk away with some understanding to those feelings.

Sweden, being a multicultural society, is not an exception when it comes to issues such as injustice, prejudice and racism. For instance, a report conducted by The Multicultural Centre revealed that Afrophobia, meaning “hostility toward people with a background in sub-Saharan Africa or who are African diaspora” (MKC 7), is widespread throughout the country. Marginalization and discrimination of Afro-Swedes is apparent within all sectors of Swedish society in addition to stereotypes about Africa and African people. These findings are not in line with the fundamental democratic values of the Swedish educational system, which indicate the importance of working actively in the classroom to establish respect for human rights and the values on which Swedish society is supposed to be based (Natl. Ag. f. Ed., “Curriculum” 4).

The Swedish Upper Secondary school aims to develop students’ understanding of cultural diversity and to develop their ability to think critically, to take personal responsibility as well as to participate actively in society (Natl. Ag. f. Ed., “Curriculum”

5-6). Nonetheless, discussing aspects such as the controversial topic of racism in the EFL classroom, could be considered problematic. However, incorporating literature as a method to discuss such topics could be beneficial. Susan Groenke and colleagues stress that young adult literature (YAL) could serve as a relevant point of departure for difficult topics in the classroom since it does do not shy away from real-world problems or complex issues. For this reason YAL can support teachers in raising more controversial topics in the classroom, such as racism, and serve as a starting point to

confront and grapple with these issues (Groenke et al. 29). Such topics correspond with the English subject’s syllabus which underlines that the subject should deal with aspects like “. . . living conditions [and] social issues . . .” (Natl. Ag. f. Ed.). This emphasizes that The Hate U Give, being a contemporary young adult novel which deals with real- world problems like racism and complex issues such as identity, could benefit the Swedish EFL classroom when discussing the controversial topic of racism.

Inclusion of the novel could further lead to opportunities of comparing depicted events in the novel to a Swedish context, which would correspond with the English subject’s syllabus which emphasizes that students should “. . . meet written . . . English of different kinds, and relate the content to their own experiences and knowledge” (Natl.

Ag. f. Ed.). Incorporating the novel and connecting it to a Swedish context could be seen as relevant especially since many students in multicultural Sweden might have experienced feelings of “frustration, fear, anger and sadness” (Thomas 442) due to exposedness to injustice, prejudice and racism based on for example ethnic affiliation, similar to the characters in the novel The Hate U Give.

The Hate U Give, also being a novel written by an African American woman, could further be regarded as a so-called counter narrative. A counter narrative’s aim is to tell the other side of things and seeks to interrogate and “thereby change the status quo” (Zamudio et al. 124), as opposed to a master narrative which seeks to maintain the status quo. Counter narratives often portray voices and experiences of the oppressed, which in this case is the African American voice. Such narratives can allow students to see reality from different perspectives, showing them “. . . that there are possibilities for life other than the ones [they] live” (Zamudio et al. 125). One of the aims with the English subject in Swedish Upper Secondary school is that students receive opportunities to learn about “. . . cultural features in different contexts and parts of the world where English is used” (Natl. Ag. f. Ed. “Syllabus”), which emphasizes that

counter narratives, like this specific one, could be of significance for the Swedish EFL classroom to gain insight into other perspectives (Bridgeman 145).

Reading the novel could also give students an opportunity to discuss and counteract stereotypes (Solórzano and Yosso “Stereotyping” 7; Bridgeman 145) as well as lead to discussions and understanding of the importance of empowering minoritized voices (Zamudio et al. 94). Creating a space where all voices can be heard is important.

Not only to “make the invisible visible but to prepare a place where all can belong”

(Bridgeman 150). Therefore, incorporating counter narratives in Swedish EFL teaching, such as this one, could help create that place and lead to empowerment of historically, and contemporary, minoritized voices. Inclusion of The Hate U Give in the Swedish EFL classroom could also further lead to discussions of the fundamental democratic values (Natl. Ag. f. Ed., “Curriculum” 4) and how racism permeates every aspect of social life and how it can affect people (Zamudio et al. 3). Furthermore, reading and processing such a counter narrative could also help students develop their ability to think critically, which corresponds with the overall aims of Swedish Upper Secondary school (Natl. Ag. f. Ed., “Curriculum” 5).

The aim of this thesis is to analyze three identified aspects in the novel The Hate U Give. Firstly, there will be a discussion of the institutional racism which the African American characters in the novel are exposed to. Secondly, the main character’s inner conflict of double-consciousness due to adjustments in order to fit the prevailing white norms (Zamudio et al. 28) will be discussed. Following, the main character’s struggle with using her voice to speak out about the night Khalil was shot will be addressed and connected to the historical, yet contemporary, oppression of certain voices in America and the importance of empowerment of such voices. In order to understand, contextualize and analyze the mentioned aspects, Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Race Pedagogy (CRP) will be applied as this thesis’ theoretical and pedagogical

framework. Lastly, the pedagogical aim of this thesis is also to argue for the inclusion of The Hate U Give in the Swedish EFL classroom by demonstrating possible pedagogical implications in connection to the literary analysis and CRP. Therefore, this essay’s aim could be considered as two-fold.

There has been a considerable amount of research conducted on the usage of literature as a point of departure for discussions of difficult topics, such as racism, in education (Groenke et al.; McCardle; Borsheim-Black et al.). Thomas’ novel and film adaption have also been analyzed and discussed through different perspectives, such as African American men’s vulnerable situation in America (Beck), the main character’s usage of sneakers as a marker for hope of two communities coming together (Shelat) and occurrences of the novel in connection to how society can protect children and families from racism, bias, discrimination and hatred (Dreyer). However, no previous research has considered the chosen aspects for this thesis and the inclusion of The Hate U Give in the Swedish EFL classroom as a springboard for critical discussions and activities. Therefore, this thesis will argue that Thomas’ counter narrative The Hate U Give, with its portrayal of the racially inequal American society and the effects on the African American characters, could serve as a point of departure for discussions of institutional racism, double-consciousness and the importance of minoritized voices in the Swedish EFL classroom, to raise awareness of the situation for a minoritized group of people in America and connect it to the students’ own experiences and knowledge of these aspects.

2 Critical Race Theory

CRT began as a movement in America in the mid-1970s (Delgado and Stefancic 4) within the field of legal studies during the post-Civil Rights Movement period (A.

Harris). However, it rapidly spread beyond that discipline, to fields such as education

and ethnic studies (Delgado and Stefancic 3). Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic state that studying and transforming the relationship between race, racism and power is what scholars and activists within the CRT movement are interested in (3). Critical race theorists also agree that the process of racialization, meaning the creation of social divisions based on race in society, has to be linked to past historical practices such as the colonization by the European powers and its consequences such as slavery followed by the Jim Crow laws and the systemic discrimination of African Americans, in order to be fully understood (Zamudio et al. 4). From these historical practices the construction of racial difference emerged as natural and fixed, meaning that “law upon law, practice upon practice, and construction upon construction has brought racial inequality to its current state” (Zamudio et al. 4). Margaret Zamudio and colleagues therefore state that the contemporary racial inequality in society is seen as “an outgrowth of a history of oppression” (4).

Considering that Angie Thomas’ novel The Hate U Give portrays a racialized and racially unequal American society, CRT was chosen as this essay’s theoretical framework in order to gain a deeper understanding of those structures as well as the three aspects that are to be analyzed in the novel; institutional racism, double- consciousness and the importance of minoritized voices. Moreover, it could be argued that The Hate U Give, with its inspiration from the current Black Lives Matter Movement and Thomas’ hope of spreading awareness and understanding (442), corresponds with the CRT activist dimension (Delgado and Stefancic 3), which further emphasizes that CRT is a suitable theoretical framework for this essay.¹

The scope of this essay will be limited to an analysis of the novel The Hate U Give, and will not include an analysis of the film adaptation. However, the film adaptation will be mentioned in the pedagogical section of the essay to emphasize that it

1The CRT activist dimension is further described in section 3.1.

is a relevant complement to the novel. Further, this analysis will not focus on the intersectionality between race and gender. Instead, it will focus on race and, to some extent, its connection with class.²

Finally, since the aim of the essay is to discuss the institutional racism which the African American characters in the novel are exposed to as well as discuss the main character’s inner conflict of double-consciousness and her struggle with using her voice, in connection to the previously mentioned CRT aspects, these terms will be defined and discussed in the following three sections.

2.1 Institutional Racism

One of CRT’s fundamental tenets is the idea that “society is fundamentally racially stratified and unequal, where power processes systematically disenfranchise racially oppressed people” (Hylton 24). Zamudio and colleagues state that critical race theorists have in common the belief that racial inequality continues to be embedded not only in the legal system, it also permeates every aspect of social life such as for example relationships, housing, education and the economic system (3). Society generally likes to believe that racism is no longer a noticeable social problem “since it has been illegal for over 50 years”, however the belief that race no longer matters is for critical race theorists considered a part of an ideology that “justifies and legitimates racial inequality in society” (Zamudio et al. 3), since race is an apparent central structure of today’s American society. Angela Harris states that critical race theorists “take the position that racism is ordinary and normal in contemporary society, indeed perhaps integral to social practices and institutions”, therefore their focus is to further society’s understanding of this inequality (Zamudio et al. 3) by making minoritized groups’ experiences visible

2 Definition of intersectionality: ”the theory that the overlap of various social identities, as race, gender, sexuality, and class, contributes to the specific type of systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual”

(“Intersectionality”)

(Bradbury 18). This integrated racism and inequality in social practices and institutions is referred to as institutional racism.

Institutional racism is made visible in for example the apparent segregated areas and geographical dividing lines in America, where areas are still divided into different communities for whites and people of color (Feagin 2) such as the white suburbs and

“the intentional ghettoization of black/brown people in inner cities and barrios”

(Zamudio et al. 128). The white population generally “enjoy considerably more wealth than people of color” do, and the basic foundations of wealth, which are seen as education, jobs and housing, have been enjoyed by white communities across generations (Zamudio et al. 27-28), which in its turn has contributed to the contemporary racial wealth gap. Cheryl Harris states that whiteness is seen as a treasured property that automatically ensures higher economic, political and social security in the long run (1713).

Further, an apparent issue in America is the criminal justice system, which especially targets African American men who get “disproportionately imprisoned for crimes that whites also do but suffer much less imprisonment for” (Feagin 153), such as illegal drug use and dealing. Police brutality towards African Americans and the fact that “Blacks are significantly more likely to experience police brutality than Whites”

(Alang et al.) is also a current issue. Sirry Alang and colleagues state that “historical evidence of public harming of Black bodies by police dates back to at least the era of slavery” (662) and is considered a part of the institutional racism that occurs in America. Episodes of police brutality “[have] emotional and physiological effects on individuals and communities” and to witness or experience continuing harassment and deaths that go unpunished sends a message to Black communities that there is little hope for justice (Alang et al. 663). Police brutality towards African Americans has given rise to movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement, “that resist

systemic oppression of Blacks and advocate their rights to live freely and with dignity”

(Alang et al. 664).

Furthermore, access to higher education is said to have significant impact on the quality of one’s life. Higher education can for some be “the key which opens the door to financial security” (Zamudio et al. 79) while for others it helps to maintain one’s place in the social hierarchy. Unfortunately, the white population has access to higher education in a much larger extent than people of color. CRT stresses that not much has changed in terms of educational reforms for students of color since the Civil Rights Movement, since racialized academic achievement gaps are still apparent in almost every measure used in education (Zamudio et al. 161) as well as the continued racial segregation in schools.

Concludingly, all of the above-mentioned government policies that exemplify institutional racism continue favoring white Americans, and burdening Americans of color (Feagin 148), which emphasizes that this is a critical issue in American society. In Thomas’ novel The Hate U Give several examples of the institutional racism that are embedded in many parts of the American society (Zamudio et al. 3) are portrayed.

Examples of institutional racism concerning economic opportunities, the law enforcement and education will be discussed in the forthcoming analysis, section 4.1.

2.2 Double-Consciousness

The Hate U Give’s protagonist Starr Carter, a young African American female, lives in a poorer, mostly colored, neighborhood, yet attends an almost all-white private school in the suburbs. She experiences that she has to perform her identity in different ways depending on the context that she is in which creates particular challenges for an individual belonging to two different cultural and class contexts. Experiences of performing different parts of one’s identity according to the context could be connected

to the term double-consciousness. Double-consciousness is defined as the “difficult black consciousness created by having to deal regularly with oppression” (Feagin 174) and W. E. B. Du Bois describes it as “. . .this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others. . .” and as a feeling of a two-ness, being two cultural identities, American and colored, with two souls and two thoughts in one dark body (8- 9). This term is not an essential term for CRT, however, Joe Feagin states that the feelings mentioned, and the dual roles created by them, have been imposed on African Americans by institutional racism, since many African Americans historically and still today do not feel that they can express openly “his or her true self without risking white retaliation” (174). Therefore, this term is still relevant in connection to CRT.

Due to the stereotypes, beliefs, powerful emotions and negative feelings about Americans of color that frequently shape how whites interact and behave (Feagin 13), i.e. the dominant discourse, some people of color such as for example African Americans choose to minimize the African American aspects of their identity and “work harder to fit the prevailing white norm”, while others instead choose to emphasize and make manifest that part of their identity (Zamudio et al. 38). Performing one’s identity

“so as to avoid being the subject of stereotyping or to fit prevailing norms” (Zamudio et al. 38) can lead to psychic costs for individuals that feel that they have to compromise or ignore significant parts of themselves. The challenges experienced are often derived from the expectations from society about how people of color should or should not be, rather than who they really are (Zamudio et al. 39).

Sheena Walker argues that double-consciousness occurs “in reaction to perceived prejudice for persons of color” (207) and this internal division is not exclusively an issue that African American individuals experience, it is also experienced by people of other cultural minorities (205). The phenomenon of double-consciousness is a process that individuals that have “membership in two different groups or

communities” can experience which can result in feelings of pressure “to adhere to both sets of standards, and/or evaluating oneself on the basis of others’ perceptions” (Walker 206). Double-consciousness is seen as a coping mechanism for cultural minorities, where the individual consciously or unconsciously develops a “false self” to be able to cope living in a pluralistic society which is based on and contributes to assumptions, attitudes and expectancies of how and who a person of color should and should not be according to the dominant society (Walker 203-07). Double-consciousness can have alienating and destructive effects on individuals since they often find themselves having to choose between communities and different parts of their identity, which can lead to feelings of for example inauthenticity (Castle 86).

Lastly, to give an example of double-consciousness, Simon Gikandi states that former president Barack Obama could be considered as a quintessential subject of the term double-consciousness (214). Gikandi describes Obama being “caught between the world of a conscripted blackness and the white house of his mother’s people” (214) and writes that Obama himself argues that he has learned to “slip back and forth between his black and white worlds, understanding that each possessed its own language and customs and structures of meaning, [while] waiting for the day the two worlds will cohere” (Obama 82 qtd. in Gikandi 214). These feelings are similar to how Starr feels, who could be argued for as a fictional subject of the term double-consciousness. A discussion of Starr’s experiences of having to perform her identity in different ways depending on the context, in connection to the term double-consciousness, follows in the forthcoming analysis, section 4.2.

2.3 The Importance of Minoritized Voices

Historically, although not accidentally, some voices have been “oppressed, distorted, ignored, silenced, destroyed, appropriated, commodified, and marginalized”

(Bell 901). Derrick Bell, one of the forefathers of CRT, states that an essential part of CRT is that theorists seek to include these traditionally excluded views and to empower them (901). They agree that voice matters and that “an oppositional voice to the dominant or master narrative (i.e., the dominant story or taken-for-granted truths) is an effective tool in making visible the structures, processes and practices that contribute to continued racial inequality” (Zamudio et al. 5). Critical race theorists focus on retelling history from a minority perspective using counter narratives told from the voices of the oppressed, in order to challenge the dominant group’s accepted truths and ideologies of racism, colonization and oppression (Zamudio et al. 127).

Schools are seen as one of the major domains that disseminate the master narratives of the dominant group and by doing so, silence alternative narratives. CRT educators are aiming for inclusion of the history and experiences of people of color (Zamudio et al. 5) or other oppressed and disenfranchised groups, especially in the classroom, in order to interrogate and deconstruct master narratives together with students (Zamudio et al. 123-24). Students can be exposed to counter narratives “when teachers teach novels, poems, and essays written by minority writers and scholars, and/or writers interested in social justice” and they could also arise if teachers are willing to “allow students to give voice to their own personal experiences and stories”

(Zamudio et al. 124). Naming and narrating one’s own reality is something that CRT scholars stress since it can empower students and people from traditionally oppressed groups and encourage a critical dialogue on issues of race, class and gender (Zamudio et al. 124).

The novel The Hate U Give could be considered as a counter narrative since it is written by and told from the voices of individuals of a traditionally oppressed group, and therefore inclusion of it in the pedagogical practice would correspond with CRT’s focus. However, in the novel, it could be argued that Starr struggles with finding

courage to use her voice about what happened the night of Khalil’s death, due to the institutional racism that African Americans are exposed to in society. When she finally uses her voice, it does not matter. Her voice, as an African American, is still not heard;

their voices keep on being ignored. The master narrative, rather than the counter narrative, is heard. This emphasizes the importance of inclusion of counter narratives such as The Hate U Give, in order to empower ignored voices, question the oppression of traditionally oppressed groups and make visible the factors that contribute to continued racial inequality.

In the forthcoming analysis, section 4.3, the protagonist Starr Carter’s struggle with using her voice will be discussed in connection to the historical, yet contemporary, oppression of African American voices and the importance of the oppositional voice to the dominant narrative.

3 The Hate U Give and Critical Race Pedagogy

Below, firstly the essay’s pedagogical framework, Critical Race Pedagogy (CRP) will be discussed in section 3.1 concerning its relevance for the forthcoming analysis and pedagogical implications. Even though CRP mainly concerns American society, this essay argues that it is still applicable and relevant in a Swedish context since Sweden is a multicultural country where minoritized groups of people, such as Afro-Swedes, also are exposed to marginalization, prejudice and racism within all sectors of Swedish society (MKC 7). Secondly, the primary source will be justified and problematized in section 3.2 concerning its applicability in the Swedish EFL classroom.

3.1 Critical Race Pedagogy

A pedagogical framework that is compatible with CRT and its main tenets, as well as beneficial for the pedagogical part of the essay, is CRP. Sonya Alemán and

Sarita Gaytán describe CRP as an instructional approach originally “designed to challenge and transform the prevailing Eurocentric power structure that organizes higher education curricula in order to cultivate spaces that validate the experiences of Students of Color” (128). The framework involves several actions in which educators who apply CRP must engage. One of the actions that is considered most relevant for this essay is firstly, the acknowledgement of the central and intersecting roles of racism and other forms of subordination in curricular structures, processes and discourses and that racism is evident in every aspect of schooling. In acknowledging this, the educator recognizes that it is important to challenge the dominant ideology (Zamudio et al. 92), such as the choice of literature in the schools’ curriculum, which is similar to CRT’s main idea that racism is a normal part of American society.

Another relevant action that CRP stresses is that educators should bring counter narratives into the classroom using for example storytelling, narratives and biographies that draw on experiences of students and people of color. CRP asks educators to honor knowledge and experiences of their students of color in particular, by encouraging them to share their experiences, much like CRT’s emphasis on naming your own reality (Zamudio et al. 94). Daniel Solórzano and Tara Yosso argue that counter narratives can challenge the dominant discourse on race and further the struggle for racial reform (“Toward” 42). Counter narratives have further been defined “. . . as a method of telling the stories of those people whose experiences are not often told . . .” (Solórzano and Yosso “Toward” 42), which is a method commonly used within both CRT and CRP.

Counter storytelling is also a relevant method for this essay, since the primary source is a counter narrative that highlights experiences of a character that belongs to a traditionally oppressed group and since the analysis will argue that the novel could be suitable for the pedagogical practice to discuss and question three aspects of importance for CRT and CRP. Incorporating this novel could give opportunities to “challenge the

perceived wisdom of those at society’s center by providing a context to understand and transform established belief systems” (Solórzano and Yosso “Method” 475) with students.

Further, another action which CRP stresses as essential is for educators to include goals of social justice and critical thinking in their curriculum. The aim is for students to understand how oppression and resistance is a part of society and their own experiences and to “help them pursue actions that foster social justice” (Zamudio et al.

94). An activist dimension is essential also in CRT, meaning that the theory “not only tries to understand our social situation, but to change it” and that “it sets out not only to ascertain how society organizes itself along racial lines and hierarchies, but to transform it for the better” (Delgado and Stefancic 3). This shows that CRP is a relevant complement for CRT in the pedagogical practice.

As an educator, incorporating a novel such as The Hate U Give in the classroom practice could serve all three of the important actions mentioned for CRP. Firstly, since the novel is written by an African American woman, it could be considered as a novel that challenges the dominant ideology of curricular structures, such as the canonical, master narratives that are commonly included in education (Borsheim-Black et al. 123).

Secondly, the novel could be considered a counter narrative that draws on experiences of people of color and could lead to activities where students are encouraged to share their own experiences. Thirdly, since the novel includes events such as protests for justice, reading it could lead to discussions of actions that can foster social justice.

Further, Solórzano and Yosso, who state that racial stereotyping of people of color is a fact in today’s society, stress the importance of defining, analyzing and giving examples of race, racism and racial stereotypes in the classroom practice. To engage the students in discussions, analysis and debate “around these concepts is a critical first step” (“Stereotyping” 7). Afterwards, the students can then engage in different critical

thinking activities such as examining and giving examples of racism in different forms, identifying racial stereotypes in different media such as novels and films, and finding examples that challenge and transform racial stereotypes (Solórzano and Yosso

“Stereotyping” 7). These ideas could help foster students’ critical thinking and will be connected to the pedagogical implications in section 5.

3.2 Why The Hate U Give?

Other than the reasons mentioned in the previous sections, such as the novel’s coherence with the essay’s theoretical and pedagogical framework, there are also other reasons for why The Hate U Give could be beneficial for the pedagogical practice, specifically the EFL classroom. Jonathan Ryan Davis states that “race is a difficult and volatile topic to discuss in the classroom” (209) yet teaching such topics “can open students’ eyes to perspectives on race and cultures to which they have not previously been exposed” (211). Susan Groenke and colleagues stress that literature, particularly young adult (YA) literature, provides “a medium through which adolescents and their teachers can confront and grapple with the social contradictions and complexities that compromise adolescents’ lives”, since YA literature does not shy away from real-world problems and complex issues such as for example racism (29). They further argue that YA literature can help teachers raise these difficult topics and that students “need opportunities to consider and discuss them with teachers and peers” (Groenke et al. 29) and connect the reading to their daily lives, which could be considered as a relevant strategy to discuss the issue of racism with EFL students.

The English subject’s syllabus for Swedish Upper Secondary school underlines that students should be given opportunities “to develop knowledge of living conditions, social issues and cultural features in different contexts and parts of the world where English is used” (Natl. Ag. f. Ed.), and that they “should meet written . . . English of

different kinds, and relate the content to their own experiences and knowledge” (Natl.

Ag. f. Ed.). Therefore, incorporating a YA novel in the EFL classroom, like the counter narrative The Hate U Give, to discuss certain living conditions, social issues and cultural features in America using earlier mentioned aspects, could be considered as a relevant method equivalent with the English subject’s syllabus. Incorporation of the novel and the discussions of racism that it could entail, could also lead to opportunities for the students to relate the content to their own experiences and knowledge, which also corresponds with the syllabus. Discussions of the novel in connection to the topic of racism, could further open up to discussions of the equal value of all people, respect for human rights and the fundamental democratic values on which our Swedish society is based on (Natl. Ag. f. Ed., “Curriculum” 4), particularly in connection to the apparent Afrophobia in our society (MKC 7).

However, there are aspects with incorporating The Hate U Give in a Swedish EFL classroom that could be considered as problematic. One aspect that could be considered as problematic by some, is if the teacher teaching about racism is a white individual. Shirin Housee highlights the question of if subjects around race/racism can be taught properly by “white folks“ (417) and points to students of color who argued that only those who are colored can feel and teach it, meaning that lived experience is “a necessary qualification for understanding and teaching about ‘race’ and racism” (417).

Yet, Housee argues that experience of racism “should not be a necessary requirement for the teaching of “race”/racism” (417), even if a certain ethnic background and racialized experiences of teachers have shown to be of importance for many students and can build trust and confidence in the classroom (427). However, Housee further argues that it is politically important that students see white lecturers leading anti-racist critiques in education, questioning the dominant discourse together with the students, with inclusion of marginalized voices and counter stories to help question structures,

relations and processes of power found in society (427-28). Therefore, it should be possible for all teachers to incorporate The Hate U Give and discuss racism and other aspects with the novel as a point of departure.

Another problematic aspect could be that, since it generally is a common view that racism is no longer a noticeable social problem (Zamudio et al. 3), it might be difficult to persuade students into discussing it critically and to actively engage in the fight for social justice. Yet, since a teacher who incorporates a CRT and CRP perspective in their teaching believes that racism is normal on many levels of contemporary society (A. Harris) it is important not to shy away from this issue and to teach students about the historical and contemporary oppression of certain groups of people. If teachers avoid raising difficult topics such as racism in the classroom, Groenke and colleagues argue that teachers contribute to stigmatization in society which in turn makes it harder for students to disrupt dominant discourses and the status quo (30). By raising difficult topics in the classroom through YA literature and relevant discussions, it is both Groenke and colleagues’ and my hope, that teachers “can encourage . . . students to notice and stand up to injustice, question the stories they hear about others, and demand new stories when necessary” (30).

Concludingly, this essay will argue that, despite these possible difficulties, the novel The Hate U Give could serve as a point of departure for discussions of institutional racism, double-consciousness and the importance of minoritized voices in the Swedish EFL classroom. The hoped-for outcome with this essay is to provide in- service teachers possible material when incorporating this novel in the English subject at Swedish Upper Secondary schools. Below, there will be an analysis of the three mentioned aspects in the novel The Hate U Give, followed by possible pedagogical implications for the EFL classroom.

4 Institutional Racism, Double-Consciousness and the Importance of Minoritized Voices in The Hate U Give

In the forthcoming sections, the three aspects institutional racism, double- consciousness and the importance of minoritized voices will be discussed in connection to fictious events and passages from the novel The Hate U Give using the essay’s theoretical framework Critical Race Theory (CRT). Section 4.1 will discuss the institutional racism portrayed in Thomas’ novel, which is argued as conceptualized in aspects such as economic opportunities, law enforcement and education. Further, in section 4.2, protagonist Starr Carter’s inner conflict with double-consciousness will be considered. Lastly, section 4.3 will discuss the importance of minoritized voices in connection to Starr’s struggle with finding courage to use her greatest weapon; her voice.

4.1 Institutional Racism

In the novel, Thomas depicts several examples of the institutional racism which are embedded in many parts of the American society (Zamudio et al. 3). In the following three sections, these will be discussed in connection to previously mentioned thoughts and ideas of CRT theorists and other scholars.

4.1.1 Inequal Economical Opportunities

In America, institutional racism can be discerned in for example the apparent segregated areas that are divided into different communities for whites and people of color, such as the white suburbs and the ghettoization of people of color in inner cities and barrios, according to CRT theorists (Feagin 2; Zamudio et al. 128). Racialized divisions of areas and differences in housing are clearly portrayed in Thomas’ novel regarding the living situations of the African American and the white characters. The

narrator Starr Carter’s inner-city neighborhood Garden Heights is depicted as radically different from her friends’ and boyfriend Chris’ neighborhoods, as well as her uncle Carlos’ gated community, in the rich suburbs. Garden Heights is a neighborhood inhabited by almost solely people of color and is portrayed as a poor community - a ghetto with high criminality due to drug trafficking. The suburbs, on the other hand, is mainly inhabited by white people and is described as quiet and peaceful, consisting of large two-story houses with children playing outside in their big yards (Thomas 154).

While visiting uncle Carlos, Starr’s younger brother Sekani can ride his bike around the neighborhood (155). In contrast he is not allowed to do the same in Garden Heights since his parents worry that he will get shot, like Starr’s two best friends were (178).

Being told to lock the door, stay inside and to not let anyone in are described as normal instructions for kids in Garden Heights while kids in the suburbs seem to be able to play outside freely (119) and sell lemonade in their lemonade stands (154). To conclude, Thomas depicts apparent differences concerning the living situations for the African American characters contra the white characters in the novel, which corresponds with the previously mentioned CRT theorists’ claims.

Yet, Garden Heights is not solely described negatively. For Starr, her neighborhood is also a community that stands up for each other in hard times and the neighborhood is built up on proud, black-owned businesses such as her father’s store and Mr. Reuben’s. Still, Starr’s mother Lisa wants the family to move from Garden Heights to a safer neighborhood. Due to her opportunity to get a better position at work, they can afford to move to a neighborhood in the suburbs, which is an opportunity that most people in Garden Heights do not get. In their new neighborhood both black and white people live side by side, and the inhabitants seem to feel safe without gates around the community (Thomas 302-04), which demonstrates that there are areas that

are not fully racially divided in the novel, even though it mostly depicts the apparent differences between Garden Heights and the white suburbs.

Throughout the novel, a reference to rapper Tupac Shakur’s saying “Thug Life”

is mentioned multiple times. It is said to stand for “The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody” (Thomas 21), meaning that what society provides people of color and other oppressed minorities at the bottom of society when they are young, such as racial discrimination and absence of good opportunities, will eventually lead to consequences for society (167-68). Starr and her father Maverick discuss the saying and agree that lack of opportunities, such as absence of good job opportunities in communities like Garden Heights, lead to people needing to earn money in other ways - like selling drugs (168). This is what eventually affects and gives consequences for society; criminality. Because of the absence of good job opportunities, many people in their neighborhood start selling drugs to survive, and that is why there is so much criminality occurring. Maverick argues that drugs are a part of a multibillion-dollar industry that is destroying Garden Heights and other communities, making them into ghettos, which could be connected to Feagin’s statement that the intentional ghettoization of inner-city communities for people of color is a part of the institutional racism in American society (2). When people, like Starr’s best friend Khalil who sells drugs to try to pay off a debt for his mother, get arrested for selling them, “they either spend most of their life in prison, another multibillion-industry, or they have a hard time getting a real job and probably start selling drugs again” (Thomas 169). Maverick tells Starr that that is the hate that society is giving them, the “Thug Life”; a system designed against them denying them opportunities, which could be considered as an example of how institutional racism is embedded in society and continues to benefit the white population while burdening people of color (Feagin 148).

As Zamudio and colleagues argue, the basic foundations of wealth, for example good housing and jobs, have been enjoyed considerably more by the white population, which has contributed to the contemporary racial wealth gap in society (27-28) that Thomas clearly depicts in her novel. In the novel she portrays apparent, large differences between communities like Garden Heights and the suburbs and that the characters receive different opportunities based on their skin color which corresponds with CRT’s claim that racism is institutional. This thesis argues that with her novel, Thomas’ stresses that because of the institutional racism detected in economic opportunities such as housing and jobs, segregation is maintained and communities like Garden Heights struggle with high criminality due to fewer job opportunities for the inhabitants than in the suburbs. Concludingly, the characters Starr and Maverick agree that people like them, meaning African Americans from communities like Garden Heights and other minorities, will not stop receiving hate in the form of inequal opportunities from society, until the situation for oppressed people change (Thomas 169).

4.1.2 Law Enforcement Injustice

Another aspect in society in which institutional racism is detected, is the law enforcement. This thesis argues that this is made visible in Thomas’ novel. In chapter two, Starr tells the reader that her parents had two “talks” with her when she was twelve. One was the usual about birds and bees; the other talk was about what to do if she gets stopped by the police. She was told to always keep her hands visible and to not make any sudden moves, as well as to solely speak when spoken to (Thomas 24). For her, and her family, it seems like a normal, yet important, talk since both of her brothers also have it with their parents. At an early age she learns how to behave if encountering police and the importance of studying their faces and badge numbers, if possible, so that

she can remember important facts if she ever is harassed by one of them. Throughout the novel, Thomas portrays a noticeable distrust towards police by the African American characters.

The night when Starr and Khalil are pulled over by white police officer One- Fifteen, Starr is so scared that she is shaking and cannot even nod when spoken to (Thomas 27).³ This fear of and anxiety towards police is reoccurring throughout the novel, both for Starr and other African American characters such as her brother Seven who becomes extremely nervous, even though he has not done anything wrong, when a police car drives behind them in an intersection (90). Disproportionate targeting and harassment of African Americans by police as well as the fact that blacks are generally more likely to experience police brutality than whites (Alang et al. 662; Feagin 153), could be a reason for why the African American characters in the novel feel distrust and anxiety towards, as well as fear of, the police. As Alang and colleagues mention, police brutality towards black bodies dates back to at least the era of slavery and is considered a part of the institutional racism towards African Americans that still occurs in America (662), which Thomas demonstrates with her novel. Eventually it is revealed in the novel that police officer One-Fifteen pulls Starr and Khalil over and harasses them because of his, and society’s, assumptions and prejudice towards African Americans. He assumes that they are misbehaving and causing trouble, because they are black and because of where they live, and assumes that Khalil is reaching for a gun when he actually is reaching for a hairbrush (Thomas 285). One-Fifteen fatally shoots Khalil three times because of the embedded assumptions and prejudice about him as an African American, and then points the gun at Starr, as if she also is considered as a threat to him. “A black person [getting] killed for being black . . .” (Thomas 38) is something that Starr has seen happen over and over again, and if Khalil had been a white male living in the suburbs,

3 One-Fifteen (1-15) is the police officer’s badge number, which is the name that Starr uses to refer to him

Starr’s father Maverick states that Khalil would not have been shot (54). To conclude, this thesis argues that with these events, Thomas depicts how institutional racism is still embedded in the law enforcement, which corresponds with a CRT perspective.

The distrust in law enforcement is further visible in the African American characters’ disbelief in Khalil getting justice. Starr does not think that One-Fifteen will be charged for the murder, because “they never [are]” (384), yet she mentions that people like her “all wait for that one time . . . when it ends right” (61). However, this was not it. One-Fifteen is not charged for the murder of Khalil, and he is not the first one to do something like it and get away with it (169). Starr is frustrated about the fact that people like her, meaning African Americans, rarely get justice (61). Alang and colleagues state that witnessing or experiencing continuing episodes of police brutality that go unpunished, such as for example the fictional case depicted in The Hate U Give, affects individuals and communities both emotionally and physiologically and sends a message to Black communities that there is little hope for justice (663), which the characters in the novel seem to feel. Similar to the real-life Black Lives Matter movement, the fictional Just Us for Justice movement starts a protest to fight for Khalil’s justice and resist systemic oppression of African Americans (Alang et al. 664).

Starr decides to never give up on a better ending and to fight for justice for her people and other minorities, in honor of historical and contemporary real-life police brutality victims, which this thesis argues that Thomas included to stress the reality of this issue (Thomas 436-38).

Concludingly, the assumptions and prejudice towards African Americans by police, the targeting, harassment and fatal shooting of Khalil as well as the acquittal of police officer One-Fifteen is argued for as several examples of how racism is institutional, meaning that it is ordinary and normal and integral in many social practices and institutions in society (A. Harris), such as law enforcement.

4.1.3 Educational Disparity

Institutional racism is also detected in American society’s educational system (Zamudio et al. 3). Educational disparities between the white characters and characters of color in the novel are noticeable, and the first disparity that is portrayed is the differing description of the schools in Garden Heights versus the schools in the suburbs.

The schools in Garden Heights are described as having less resources to equip students with than schools like Williamson in the suburbs have and according to Starr’s father Maverick, it is “easier to find some crack than it is to find a good school around [Garden Heights]” (Thomas 168). Further, the junior college in Garden Heights, which Starr’s brother Seven is potentially thinking about attending after graduation, is described as a low-standard college with less opportunities than other colleges (307).

Starr and Seven’s school Williamson, on the other hand, is described as a gated high school on a new campus with modern buildings and beautiful surroundings (72), which is quite the contrast to how Garden Heights’ schools are depicted.

Another educational disparity is that almost all students attending Williamson are white individuals. Except from Starr, there is only one other African American student in eleventh grade (Thomas 75). One supposed reason for this could be the fact that America consists of many segregated areas for whites and people of color, which is mentioned in section 4.1.1., meaning that since the school is located in an almost all- white suburb, that might be the reason why mostly white students attend Williamson, while students of color attend schools in their neighborhoods. Starr and her brothers were able to change schools to the suburbs because of their parents’ economic resources, however, not all people living in neighborhoods similar to fictional Garden Heights would have that opportunity. Another supposed reason could be that the white population has access to higher education to a much larger extent than people of color

(Zamudio et al. 161), which could explain why there are only a few students of color attending Williamson high school. Arguably, it could be a combination of both suggested reasons. Either way, by portraying this segregation, Thomas illustrates how institutional racism is detected within education.

Further, Thomas exemplifies that, due to institutional racism, not all African Americans graduate and “. . . get [their diplomas]” since a lot of people, especially men, from communities like fictional Garden “don’t make it to eighteen” (364).

Therefore, Starr’s father Maverick is extremely proud of her brother Seven for doing something he did not - working hard in school and receiving a high school diploma (Thomas 308, 364). Higher education such as high school - which, if finished successfully, gives opportunities of even higher education - can for some be the key that opens up the door to financial security (Zamudio et al. 79). For a young African American from a poor neighborhood such as fictional Garden Heights, living in a society where racial educational inequality still occurs, it could be seen as a great achievement to receive a high school diploma which could open the door to better opportunities. For others, the diploma simply helps to maintain their place in the social hierarchy (Zamudio et al. 79). By this, Thomas depicts another educational disparity in American society.

By these examples Thomas illustrates that American schools are continued racially segregated and that several educational inequalities still exist (Zamudio et al.

161). People of color from neighborhoods similar to the fictional poor community Garden Heights, seem to mainly get access to schools such as the ones described in Garden Heights, with less resources and opportunities than other schools, unless they have the financial means to apply to wealthier schools. In contrast, white individuals living in the rich suburbs, get access to modern, new built schools like Williamson. This leads to continued racial segregation in schools, which CRT scholars stress still exists.

Also, because of the differences in resources in inner-city schools and the ones in the suburbs, racialized academic achievement gaps occur, leading to the white population continuing to get access to higher education to a much larger extent than people of color (Zamudio et al. 161). Access to higher education is said to have significant impact on the quality of one’s life (Zamudio et al. 79). In other words, there continues to be differences in the quality of life for white people and people of color, which the events in the novel depict, indicating that not much has happened in terms of educational reforms for students of color since the Civil Rights Movement (Zamudio et al. 161).

Concludingly, this thesis argues that with the events and passages that have been discussed in the previous three sections from The Hate U Give, Thomas tries to exemplify how American “society is fundamentally racially stratified and unequal”

(Hylton 24) and that racial inequality continues to be embedded in aspects such as economic opportunities, law enforcement and education, similar to what CRT scholars aim to do (Zamudio et al. 3). The discussed passages from the novel stress that such institutional racism continues to favor white Americans and burden Americans of color (Feagin 148).

4.2 Double-Consciousness

In the novel, the narrator explains that she feels that she is caught between two worlds; her colored world in the poor neighborhood Garden Heights and her almost all- white world at Williamson. Fictional Starr Carter’s situation could be argued as similar to Barack Obama’s, who also experiences being caught in-between two worlds; a white and a black one (Gikandi 214). According to Gikandi, Obama is subjected to double- consciousness (214), which this essay argues that Starr also is. Throughout the novel it is clear that Starr is struggling with her identity as a young African American female, being part of two different cultural and class contexts.

In seventh grade, Starr invites two friends from school over for a sleepover at her home in Garden Heights. One of her friends is not allowed to come due to her parents considering Starr’s neighborhood as “the ghetto.” The other friend ends up asking her parents to come pick her up after some gunshots are fired around the corner at night during a drive-by. That is when Starr realizes that Garden Heights is one world and her life at Williamson is another, and that she has to keep her two worlds apart (Thomas 39). Similarly to Obama (Gikandi 214), Starr learns to slip back and forth between these two worlds and understands that each world possesses its own language and customs which is visible in how she acts and speaks according to where she is and who she is with. Starr refers to her two identities as Williamson Starr and Garden Heights Starr, and the Williamson version of her does not use slang, “[even] if a rapper would say it, [she] doesn’t say it, even if her white friends do” (Thomas 73). She describes that “slang makes [white people] cool”, while “slang makes her ‘hood’” (73).

Williamson Starr further “holds her tongue when people [make her angry]”, so that

“nobody will think that she is ‘the angry black girl’” (74). Also, she does not want to show herself as weak even if she feels sad, since she describes it as even worse to be seen as “the weak black girl” than “the angry black girl” (116). The Williamson version of Starr is “approachable” and “nonconfrontational” and gives “no stank-eyes” or “side- eyes” (74), while Garden Heights Starr can do and be all of those things. Essentially,

“Williamson Starr doesn’t give anyone a reason to call her ghetto” which is something that she cannot “stand [herself] for doing” (74), yet she does it anyway. Furthermore, Starr also learns to adapt her voice unconsciously while speaking to “other” people, meaning white individuals, whether she is at Williamson or not. This is apparent when she has her first conversation with police detectives after the shooting of her best friend Khalil. She chooses every word carefully and tries to pronounce them well, since she does not want anyone to ever think that she is ghetto. As a result, she feels that she does

not sound like herself or like herself (97). In the novel Starr further realizes that she avoids speaking about Garden Heights with her friends entirely, since she is afraid that one of them will call it “the ghetto.” Even though she agrees that Garden Heights in fact is the ghetto, she argues that it is alright if she herself calls it that, while it becomes an uncomfortable truth if someone else does (139). Concludingly, Starr struggles with the feeling of having these two differing identities, i.e. her double-consciousness.

Du Bois describes double-consciousness as “. . .this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others. . .” (8-9) which this essay argues that Starr does when she reflects about how to act and speak in certain situations to not be seen as

“ghetto” or “the angry black girl” by others. Double-consciousness is also described as a feeling of a two-ness, being two cultural identities, American and colored (Du Bois 8- 9) which is similar to how Starr feels about her two identities, Garden Heights Starr and Williamson Starr. One being adjusted to her black world, and the other to her white one.

Further, as Feagin mentions, double-consciousness and the dual roles created by it has been imposed on African Americans by historical and contemporary institutional racism, which has led to feelings of not being able to express openly “. . . [one’s] true self without risking white retaliation” (174). Starr’s reoccurring reflections of not wanting to be seen as “ghetto” and adjustments in order to not live up to stereotypes about African Americans, could be seen as examples of how the institutional racism in form of prejudice towards African Americans, and the fear of being judged by white people, has affected her and her identity.

Throughout the novel, Starr also struggles with the fact that she is dating a white person. The Garden Heights version of Starr experiences feelings of betraying who she is, her identity, and her people by dating Chris (Thomas 107-08), especially after the shooting of her best friend Khalil since the police officer was a white male. At the same time, Williamson Starr loves him and describes him as her “normal” (162), even though

she minimizes certain parts of herself even with him. In the novel it becomes an apparent issue for her, and others, that he is white and rich while she is not (160-61) and a part of her feels like the Garden Heights version of her cannot really exist around people like Chris, meaning white, rich people (296), because of the fear of being judged for who she really is. However, eventually she finds it exhausting being two different people who has taught herself to speak in two different voices and only say certain things around certain people. She realizes that she cannot change where she comes from or what she has been through, “so why be ashamed of what makes me, me?”, she asks herself. She decides to not be ashamed anymore (435) and lets her two worlds, Garden Heights and Williamson, collide.

The stereotypes, negative beliefs and ideas about African Americans that exist in society (Zamudio et al. 38), such as Starr’s examples of African Americans being known for being “ghetto”, “angry”, using “slang”, giving “side-eyes” and being

“confrontational” (Thomas 73-74), seem to have made Starr minimize some aspects of her identity and work to fit the prevailing white norms (Zamudio et al. 38) at Williamson and in society outside of Garden Heights. Walker argues that double- consciousness occurs as a reaction to perceived prejudice of persons of color (207), such as for example the stereotypes mentioned above, which could be argued is what has happened in Starr’s situation. It could further be argued that Starr has developed a “false self”, as a coping mechanism, to be able to cope with living in her two differing worlds which are based on and contributes to assumptions, attitudes and expectancies of how and who she should and should not be according to the dominant society (Walker 203- 07) and the people around her.

As Zamudio and colleagues mention, performing one’s identity as to avoid being the subject of stereotyping and to fit prevailing norms can lead to psychic costs for those who feel that they have to compromise or ignore certain parts of themselves

(39). It can also have alienating and destructive effects on individuals when they find themselves having to choose between communities and different parts of their identity, which Castle mentions can lead to feelings of inauthenticity (86). It is palpable that Thomas depicts Starr as affected by having to compromise and switch between her two worlds and identities. She describes it as exhausting and recurrently she mentions that she does not like that she adjusts and pretends to be someone she is not. She even mentions that she cannot stand herself and does not like herself when she does it, which certainly could be seen as a sign of psychic costs. Further, she struggles with feelings of authenticity, just as Castle specifically mentions, when she asks herself if she is true to herself or betraying herself and her people by dating a white male. Fortunately, at the end of the novel she feels that her two worlds and identities can intertwine to a much larger extent, which seems like a great relief to her.

4.3 The Importance of Minoritized Voices

As CRT fore-father Bell states, some voices have historically been “oppressed, distorted, ignored, silenced, destroyed, appropriated, commodified, and marginalized”

(901). In America, one example of those voices are of the African American population.

Thomas’ novel The Hate U Give gives voice to this historically marginalized group by being written in the voice of a young African American female. However, based on certain events in the novel, this essay argues that Thomas depicts that African American voices are still oppressed, ignored and silenced in American society.

Throughout the novel, the narrator Starr struggles with finding the courage to use her voice and stand up for Khalil by telling the world what really happened the night when he was murdered. When African Americans have been murdered by police before, Starr mentions that she has tweeted RIP hashtags, reblogged pictures on Tumblr and signed every petition out there for their justice. She has always thought that if she